This is my favorite of the three Marillion albums that have been remixed for surround, and it’s quickly becoming one of my top albums ever. Really brilliant and sometimes depressing lyrics.
I’ve spent a good amount of time with both the original stereo mix and the new stereo mix. I could probably write an essay pointing out every single difference between them, but I’d say the main thing that sets them apart is the overall vibe. The original had this sort of creepy atmospheric feeling to it, like you could imagine you’re sitting in a shady bar late at night observing all the characters Fish describes. The new mix sounds a bit more “real” or live, like it’s just a band on stage performing, and it often seems less dynamic than the original. I also felt Fish’s vocals and the bass guitar were given more prominence in the new mix.
The other thing about the new mix is that, like the Fleetwood Mac 5.1 remixes, there are all kinds of changes/deviations from the original, some glaringly obvious (different takes and/or instrumentation) and some a bit more subtle.
I’m happy to say the surround mix is a lot better than I expected. Every song seems to have some kind of discrete element isolated in the rears, though I felt there were a few missed opportunities to throw more stuff back there. Tracks like "Going Under" or "Torch Song" where it's just vocals, bass, guitar, and synth were never going to be surround spectaculars, but overall there's definitely more going on here than just reverb in the rears.
Fish’s vocals are hard in the center, with some slight echo to the other four channels. Drums and bass are across the fronts, along with Steve Rothery’s guitar. The rears do feature an echo wash from the fronts, but keys are usually back there as well: on some songs they’re very discrete, while others have them audible in all four corners but more prominent in the rears.
It’s interesting that my three least favorite tracks on the album (“Just For The Record”, “White Russian”, “Incommunicado”) have the best surround mixes. “Just For The Record” has the synthesizer solo loud and clear in the rears only, “White Russian” has an entire lead vocal section (“we buy fresh bagels at the corner store…”) isolated in the rears, and “Incommunicado” gets really discrete with the guitars in the rears and the keyboard upfront.
Some other notes/observations:
- The guitar solo in "Hotel Hobbies" doesn't pan anymore
- The solo female voice at the end of "That Time Of The Night" rotates around the room
- The sound effects of "Torch" pouring himself a drink in the beginning of "Torch Song" are discrete in the rears
- I was hoping they'd throw Tessa Niles' epic backing vocals at the end of the "The Last Straw" in the rears, but it didn't happen
- I like this alternate vocal take on "White Russian" better than the original! Maybe Fish wanted it this way all along?
- I did try raising the rears 2-3 dB and I thought it made the mix seem too echoey
- Though it's mastered very quietly, there does seem to be some limiting applied to the surround mix. It never exceeds -20 dB.
- 48/24 sample rate: I assume this means it was a digital source?
I’d give it an 8. If you like the album, it’s a no-brainer.
"Hotel Hobbies"/"Warm Wet Circles"/"That Time Of The Night":
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"White Russian": (At around 4:00 Fish starts singing from over your left shoulder):
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"Just For The Record" (The vocals at around 1:40 are in the rears, as is the synth solo):
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